


Noodle Necessity

by farawayfiction (JJ_Thomas)



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 02:25:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11476638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJ_Thomas/pseuds/farawayfiction
Summary: Dorian asks a simple question.





	Noodle Necessity

“Why noodles, man?” Dorian asked out of the blue one evening as they sat side by side under the neon sign.

John abruptly stopped chewing, noodles rudely hanging from his lips, and turned slightly to look at him. After gauging his partner’s serious expression, he returned his attention to his food and continued to eat his dinner as if the question had never been asked. With his chopsticks, he shoveled in soba one mouthful after another. His pace was one step shy of hurried, even though he had no pressing obligations. Dorian had observed over the years John had one speed when it came to eating and no amount of insistence could change that. He didn’t like to be interrupted (especially by his partner who didn’t eat at all) and he preferred to finish his meal. What typically resulted was a mostly one sided conversation in which Dorian spoke and John responded reluctantly with food in his mouth.

Tonight the only immediate reply was the sound of the rain falling, the subdued discussions of other customers piled around the bar, and the bang of pots and utensils in the tiny central kitchen. After five minutes, Dorian made an assumption. He would never discover the reason behind John’s obsession. John would never have called it such but numbers never lied. Eighty-two point seven four percent of the time John chose noodles if they were available.

When the bowl was finally devoid of noodles, he placed his chopsticks down on the side, picked up the bowl, and drank down the remaining broth. A polite and respectful nod to the chef always followed. The elderly man was also the waiter and the dishwasher, fulfilling all roles vital to his small twelve seat establishment.

John surprised Dorian by answering his question with a question of his own. “What about ‘um?”

“It’s a thing with you.”

“No, it’s not,” he defended himself lamely.

Dorian smile and looked down at the bar, vindicated.

“Okay, yeah. It’s a thing with me,” he admitted grumpily. “So what?”

“I was just curious. You eat a lot of noodles.”

“Is there something _wrong_ with liking noodles?”

“Not at all.”

He reached for his tea. “Then why are we having this conversation?”

Dorian turned it right back around. “You tell me.”

John took a sip then put the small cup back down on the counter, wrapping both hands around it for warmth. Then he cast his gaze far and away, contemplatively. When he next spoke his voice was barely more than a whisper. “The first couple of weeks awake I had problems with solids. Rice noodles were filling and they sat well. There wasn’t much of anything else that did. After it wasn’t an issue, I found I still wanted them. Rice, wheat, whatever. It didn’t matter.”

Dorian nodded. “Comfort food.”

He made a face. “Where’d you hear that phrase?”

“Detective Stahl,” he replied before switching to Valerie’s voice. “‘Chocolate and ice cream are a girl’s best friends.'”

John grinned, having no trouble believing the quote.

Returning to his own voice, Dorian added, “She also commented that the desire for comfort food was primarily a female characteristic.”

The detective reached over and shoved his partner halfway off his stool.


End file.
